On February 23, The Michigan Wolf Management Advisory Council (Council) adopted a recommendation that the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR) institute a wolf hunting and trapping season as part of their wolf management plan. However, a recent court ruling that returned the gray wolf back to the endangered species list in the Great Lakes Region has, at least temporarily, slowed the process of formally establishing a hunting and trapping season. The Council is tasked by law to recommend management strategies for Michigan’s wolf population, including management techniques such as hunting and trapping. Earlier in the day, the DNR gave a presentation on wolf depredation and reviewed the state’s 2013 wolf hunt where 22 wolves were harvested. The DNR stated that the most effective way to deter depredation is a combination of non-lethal deterrents and harvest in select areas of the state’s Upper Peninsula.

Midwest

Safest Year on Record for Hunting in New York - Includes Caucus-Supported Hunting Expansions (New York Senate)

Southeast

Mississippi Legislator Floats Idea to Sell Wildlife Management Area (Clarion Ledger)

CSF Job Announcements:

Bill Dance Signature Lakes Initiative Aims to Boost Fishing Tourism in Tennessee (Tennessean)

Hunt Expo Raises Record $9.7 Million for Wildlife Conservation (Mule Deer Foundation)

Hunting Can Change Virus Evolution, Transmission in Pumas (Colorado State University)

Study: Private Land Hunting Reduces the Refuge Effect (Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation)